Regulation on the employment duties of teaching and research staff at the University of Iceland, no. 605/2006
with subsequent amendments
| Authorised translation |
Article 1. Employment duties.
The duties of teaching staff at the University of Iceland are divided into three main areas: research, teaching and administration. The duties of staff members engaged solely for scientific and research work shall be divided between research, administration and other work.
2.1 Teaching.
Teaching at the University of Iceland involves the training of students to carry out independent academic projects and perform various jobs within Icelandic society. Teaching is intended to develop students, accustom them to ordered working practices, increase their knowledge, enable them to apply this knowledge in an independent, creative and critical manner, and use it to gather new knowledge. Research and teaching must be interconnected at all stages of study, where possible.
Studies for a degree from the University of Iceland are divided into individual courses, which together form an entity. Faculties are responsible for studies and the conferral of degrees. A faculty shall determine which courses are taught and who teaches them. Teaching staff have freedom in their teaching within that framework set by the faculty. They themselves determine course material, approach and teaching methods. This crucial freedom comes with duties and responsibilities towards academia, students and colleagues.
2.2 Research
Teaching and research staff have academic freedom in their research, meaning that they themselves select subject matter within their field, and methodology. A faculty or institute, as applicable, shall define the academic field of each member of teaching or research staff. Freedom of research comes with duties and responsibilities. The results of research must be presented in a scientific setting which makes strict academic requirements. They shall also be presented to the general public where possible. Teaching and research staff must endeavour to earn income from research funds and from other sources in order to fund their research. Teaching and research staff shall give an annual account of their research and results.
A contract of employment may assign staff engaged solely for scientific and research work, cf. Article 4, the task of performing contract research under the auspices of an institute or faculty. Contract research may in part replace general research duties. The provisions on freedom of research do not apply to contract research.
2.3 Administration
Firstly, administration involves tasks in connection with the teaching and research of the staff member in question.
[Secondly, administration involves tasks under the auspices of a school, faculty or study programme, assigned to people or which they are elected to perform temporarily, and to which the provisions of the central Regulation for the University of Iceland apply.]1
Thirdly, administration involves tasks under the auspices of the University Council or rector, which are, as a rule, paid for separately or compensated in another manner.
1Amended by Article 1 of Regulation no. 968/2009.
Article 3. Division of employment duties between job components.
The provisions of this Article apply to University teaching and research staff. However, the Article does not apply to those holding the position of head of faculty.
3.1 General employment duties of University teaching and research staff.
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The employment duties of professors are generally divided into 48% teaching, 40% research and 12% administration.
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[The employment duties of lecturers and senior lecturers working at 50% employment or higher are generally divided into 48% teaching, 40% research and 12% administration.]1
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[The employment duties of lecturers and senior lecturers working at lower than 50% employment are divided into 69% teaching, 23% research and 8% administration.]1
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[The employment duties of lecturers and senior lecturers working at 20% employment or lower shall be determined by the relevant school dean in consultation with the employee.]1
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[The employment duties of adjunct lecturers 1 are divided into 65% teaching, 31% research and 4% administration.]8
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The employment duties of research specialists, research scholars and research scientists are divided into two categories, one of which involves 60-80% research duties and the other 40%. Other components of work for research specialists, research scholars and research scientists make up 20-60%, or depend on more detailed stipulations in their job description and contract of employment.
3.2 Exemptions from general employment duties.
[I. Proportional increase in teaching duties.
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A. |
A proportional increase in teaching duties in excess of general employment duties shall be based on average research activity over the last year, last three years or last five years, depending on which is more advantageous for the staff member in question. |
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[A proportional increase in teaching duties in accordance with item A shall be as appears in tables A, B and C, in cases where the staff member in question is in a full-time position.
| Table A Research activity, 3-year average |
Table B Research activity, 3-year average |
Table B Research activity, 3-year average |
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| Lecturers and senior lecturers in full-time positions |
Professors in full-time positions | Adjunct lecturers 1, full time |
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| Research points | Teaching duties | Research points | Teaching duties | Research points | Teaching duties |
| 9 | 49% | 9 | 49% | 6 | 66% |
| 8 | 50% | 8 | 50% | 5 | 67% |
| 7 | 51% | 7 | 51% | 4 | 68% |
| 6 | 52% | 6 | 52% | 3 | 69% |
| 5 | 53% | 5 | 53% | 2 | 70% |
| 4 | 54% | 4 | 54% | 1 | 71% |
| 3 | 55% | 3 | 55% | 0 | 72% |
| 2 | 56% | 2 | 56% | ||
| 1 | 57% | 1 | 57% | ||
| 0 | 58% | 0 | 58% | ||
]6
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B. |
In spite of item A, a member of teaching staff may request an increase in teaching duties at the expense of research duties. In which case the school dean may, in exceptional circumstances, e.g. due to temporary pressure, shortage of teaching staff, illness or absence of other kinds, decide in consultation with the faculty head and relevant member of teaching staff to temporarily increase teaching duties at the expense of research duties. Changes of this kind must not result in a lower salary than if increased teaching was performed as overtime. Furthermore, the rector may temporarily assign a member of staff a specific position, in which case employment duties shall be changed by agreement. |
The following applies to proportional increase in teaching duties in accordance with items A and B:
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Administration duties remain unchanged, but research duties are reduced to the same extent that teaching duties are increased.
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Overtime limits for teaching are not changed.
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Teaching points increase by 0.5 points per year for each percentage of total employment duties by which teaching duties are increased.]2
II. Proportional increase in research duties.
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General rule: Should a member of teaching staff request that the percentage of research duties be increased at the expense of teaching duties, the general rule shall be that another member of teaching staff must be found to take his or her place, and this teaching shall be paid for with separate/personal income.
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Special rule: Should the faculty or head of faculty consider it important to enable a certain member of teaching staff to take on an increased percentage of research duties, the faculty in question may agree to cover the costs of this.
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A member of teaching staff who takes on an increased percentage of research duties in accordance with item 1 may not use overtime for teaching except in the case of supervision of a Master’s or doctoral thesis.
[III. Temporary increase in research duties.
A dean of school is authorised to temporarily transfer the employment duties of [adjunct lecturers 1, lecturers and senior lecturers]1 at the school from teaching to research, upon receiving an allocation from a specific fund, cf. regulation on performance related transfer of job components.]3
1Amended by Article 1 of Regulation no. 1158/2015.
2Amended by Article 3 of Regulation no. 968/2009.
3Amended by Article 4 of Regulation no. 968/2009.
4Amended by Article 2 of Regulation no. 224/2015.
5Amended by Article 1 of Regulation no. 302/2015.
6Amended by Article 2 of Regulation no. 1158/2015.
7Amended by Article 1 of Regulation no. 169/2020.
8Amended by Article 1 of Regulation no. 1049/2021.
Article 4 Staff engaged solely for scientific and research work.
A University faculty or institute shall determine the division of employment duties between research, administration and other work for research specialists, research scholars and research scientists. The division of employment duties shall be stipulated in the contract of employment. If applicable, the contract of employment shall specify what percentage of research duties shall be contract research under the auspices of a faculty or institute, without freedom of research, cf. Article 2.
Article 5 Sabbaticals.
[In order to have the option of taking a sabbatical, the average number of research points from selected categories within the Evaluation System for Public Higher Education Institutions must be at least 10 per year, cf. a table at the end of Article 7 of the Regulation on the promotion of academic staff at the University of Iceland, no. 1300/2020, cf. also item 1, Research, in Article 8 of the same regulation.]1 This is based on the average over the last three or five years, depending on which is more advantageous for the staff member in question. A research report must be submitted annually.
Otherwise, previous regulation applies to the duration of sabbaticals and the minimum amount of time that must elapse between sabbaticals.
1Amended by Article 1 of Regulation no. 491/2021.
Article 6 Entry into force etc.
This Regulation, approved by the University Council, is established on the basis of Article 11 of the University of Iceland Act no. 41/1999 and Article 32 of the Regulation for the University of Iceland no. 458/2000. This Regulation shall enter into force 1 January 2007, at which time the University Council’s resolution on the employment duties of permanent teaching staff from 8 September 1988 shall be repealed. Further details on the implementation of this Regulation shall be provided in rules of procedure to be approved by the University Council.
[...]1
1Amended by Article 4 of Regulation no. 224/2015.
Explanatory provisions.
[Administration in connection with teaching and research, cf. Article 2, refers to, e.g., communication with students not directly connected to the teaching of the staff member in question, preparation of the course catalogue, participation in meetings of the school governing board and in faculty meetings, as well as seats on committees under the auspices of the school or faculty. It is assumed that a school dean may assign administrative tasks to individual members of teaching staff, and that a faculty head may, under the authority of the faculty meeting, assign administrative tasks under the auspices of the faculty to individual members of teaching staff. Examples of tasks under the auspices of a school/faculty, which people are elected to perform temporarily, are the positions of head of faculty, deputy head of faculty and director of an institute.]1
Article 4 states that a faculty of institute shall determine the division of employment duties for research staff between research, administration and other work. Other work here refers to contract research, cf. Article 2.2, and teaching. Article 32 of the central Regulation for the University of Iceland states that a faculty may, under exceptional circumstances, temporarily assign certain teaching duties to a staff member engaged solely for scientific and research work.
1Amended by Article 5 of Regulation no. 968/2009.
University of Iceland, 10 April 2006